Tales of the Servant
by Tyrant Yoshitsuna
Summary: A lowly Servant interjects within the story, adding further headache to his Master than he already does. Meet Koyzen, the smart mouthed Servant: A guy that's just as clueless as his master about the world. OC.
1. I am your Servant, Praise me!

My name is... Koyzen Shu

* * *

A young man sighed, carrying a bucket full of water, with a piece of rag sticking out from the side. It's another one of those days for him. The days where he has to run around like a headless poultry doing errands is an estate that can't seem to stay clean even for a single day.

"I mean really, these aristocrats buy a big house, but they can't even make sure that it _stays_ clean. Don't they know that gold doesn't just sprout from the ground? What a big waste of money." the young man sighed again, running a hand through his dark hair. "Well, at least it makes them dumb enough to hire servants like me to clean it for them. I just have to clean a room or two, hide away in a place where I could take a nap, and let the day go by. Hehe, easy money."

The young servant's name is Koyzen Shu. A simple orphan that was luckily picked up by the head butler when he was roaming around the city, where he saw the boy expertly cleaning one fateful day.

The day where said boy was being punished for being lazy and was ordered by the caretaker to clean the whole orphanage inside and out if he wanted any scrap of dinner. He had always been good with his hands.

He had dark hair, untamed like how he preferred it, with a few spike going down. His eyes held an eternal look of boredom. Meaning that his eyes were always half open, seemingly uninterested to the world. He wore a tan shirt, dark pants, and a pair of brown boots to finish it all off. It wasn't fancy, nor was it just rags. He liked it plain and simple, and it's too much trouble washing it if it were anything else.

He stopped from his musing as he spotted a familiar, ruby colored, long hair. Another young man, wearing a pretty expensive looking white coat, with a sword strapped horizontally behind his waist. He was walking in the halls, ignorantly unaware that he had just passed the servant boy.

The aristocrat's wonderful name was Luke Fone Fabre. The young master of the _stupidly_ large mansion. Son of the duke. Masculine like a well trained soldier. Poised like a true noble. A guy who could woo a lady with just a smile. He was all but perfect...

If only he could get rid of that rude attitude of his.

The young man was kept within the mansion ever since the time he was kidnapped 7 years ago. Also, it seemed that the Young Master had lost his memory of his childhood, not even being able to remember anything before said event.

But it's not like the young servant dislikes him, or anything. On the contrary, they were good friends. The aristocrat's personality was easy to handle, since the Young Master doesn't have the mind set of 'Talking to commoners is... beneath me' kind of attitude. The red-head's rudeness was what makes him approachable for the young servant, since, well... it gives them a '_Unique_' relationship.

The noble was rude, while the Servant was... sarcastic, for the lack of a better word. It was a great way to pass time, by flinging words that get on people's nerves. It was a mutual... _Friendship_ if you wish to call it.

The young servant heard the red haired noble grumbling. Well, he just finished cleaning a room, so, why not spend the rest of the day hanging out with the young master? He could always say that the young master was bored, and he provided the entertainment for him. Yeah, that shouldn't get him in trouble. It was a brilliant plan for the lazy servant.

"Hello there, Young Master." the servant greeted, holding back his tongue for a chance to unleash his _skills_.

The red haired noble turned around, finding his friend carrying a bucket. "Oh, it's you." was his disappointed reply. "What do you want? I didn't ask for you."

Despite the expected rudeness, the Servant took no offense. "I was simply saying hello." he responded. "Also, I couldn't help but hear your mumbling. Don't tell me that one of the maids have finally confessed how they love your silky red hair, and wish to slowly pull them out of your scalp?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed sharply. "Why would you, or even they, think that?"

The lowly servant made a simple shrug. "Because, to tell the truth, it is also one my secret wishes." he said, giving the young noble a crooked grin.

"You really are..." the red-head trailed off. Though he did not like the Servant's words, it was also one of the things that made his days in the manor interesting. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Asking a friend what's bothering him, of course." was his reply. "So, what's wrong?"

Luke shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Now hurry up and get out of here before the maids tell on you again." the rude noble said, reminding the servant the day where he was made to clean a whole wing of the manor as punishment when one of the maids caught him taking a nap in one of the storage rooms.

The servant boy paled at the memory. "I think one of the lovely maids is calling me. If you'll excuse me." he said hurriedly, ignoring the drops of water that was spilling out of the bucket as he walked away with haste.

* * *

During Koyzen's panic, he was caught by one of the maids drenching the halls in his hurry, which left him to clean every drop he left, all the way back to the hall where he met Luke. He almost cried since he was all the way to the other side of the manor.

This left him the rest of the day to clean up the mess.

Karma has a sure way to let people know that she cares. "Curse me for my laziness." he grumbled, wiping the mop over the small puddles in the halls. "Point out a way to punish me, and I'll do anything as long as it's not too troublesome."

As he opened the door to the exit of the manor, he was surprised to find the guards on the ground, lying in a heap. Also, the front door was open.

"Okay, either these guys are lazier than I am, or there's something wrong here."

Cautiously, he walked over to the downed armored guards. He breathed a sigh of relief as he found no wounds, and light breathing from the guards.

"Yup, they're lazy AND there's something wrong. I knew these guys were secretly my kin." said the lazy servant. Quickly making a decision, he grabbed one of the guard's hidden daggers and tucked it in his belt. "It's called borrowing, not stealing, alright." he said to the motionless guard, patting it lightly.

Quickly running to the drawing room, he found both Lady Susanne and Duke Fabre unconscious, along with the rest of thee guards inside. He ran up to the fallen lady, searching for any blood on her clothes. Again, he sighed in relief, finding nothing.

"Thank goodness the Lady is safe." he said to himself. He looked over the duke, also half relief that it wasn't an assassin in the manor. "Good thing you're still alive. I don't want to be jobless just because you were assassinated." he commented offhandedly.

He continued along the halls, passing some maids and servants lying on the ground, and leaning down on the floor unconscious. He was thankful that none of his new family were injured, or... dead.

"Let the infiltrator pray that none of them are hurt, or else they will know hell." he mumbled darkly, pushing the doors open to the garden, where he found the others outside either asleep, or almost halfway there. He saw Luke down on his knee, he was supposed to be training with his teacher at the moment. Guy was leaning on a wall, keeping himself from falling down. He was one of Luke's trusted servants like himself.

In the middle of the garden was Luke's sword teacher, Van Grants, facing a woman that he hadn't seen in the manor before.

"Must be the intruder." he mumbled, before doing a quick observation. "How in the world can she fight with her hair on her face? I really _must_ meet her stylist, he must be a legendary master with skills that rival Yulia's." he said, thinking about the pictures he'd seen painted by some people about said figure.

With amazing acrobatic maneuvers, the female intruder flipped away from the swordmaster's swing, and landed only a few feet away from the downed Luke. The young Servant stood by the door behind the Young Master, ready to move if needed. He drew the dagger, and stalked slowly to the... glowing red haired noble?

"Wow, I didn't know the Young Master glows. He'd be a great substitute to candles at night." the servant commented.

Quickly feeling that something was wrong, he ran towards his friend/master, who was attempting to attack the woman with his wooden sword from behind. The Young Master's teacher saw the action and reached out a hand to stop him.

"No! Stop!" Van called out to his student.

The woman heard the Young Master's attack, and spun around to block his strike. The Servant charged as well, thinking that they could put her down together.

Both moves echoed a loud clang, almost making the air vibrate from the two moves. When Luke and the woman's attack met, the space between their weapons started to distort. The servant ignored the strange phenomena, and pressed on the attack. He would ask about that later.

"The Seventh Fonon!" he heard the woman say in surprise.

As the servant was within the range of his swing, a flash of light blasted the area around him. The light came from the two people that were in a deadlock, engulfing them, and the servant. The energy that gathered the three lifted off the ground and shot up the sky, disappearing from the manor altogether.

The people who witnessed the scene could only pray that the Young Master was safe.

* * *

Waking up with a start, Koyzen snapped up to his feet. He met the gaze of two beautiful eyes looking into his. Before him was a woman with a form that's just as beautiful. Around her was a field of snow colored flowers. The night had already fallen in the sky, and the scene was illuminated by the rays of the moon. Her figure glowed in the cold breeze of the night, sending a slight chill up the servant's back.

"You're awake. Thank goodness." she said, sighing in relief.

Though he tried, Koyzen couldn't stop his tongue. "You are mistaken, my lady. I am still quite asleep, and has yet to come to consciousness." he replied, giving the woman a flat look to hide the earlier feeling that crawled up from before. "If you wish, you can kiss me to wake me up."

The woman was taken aback by the sudden shamelessness of the young man, giving him a wide-eyed look. She shook her head at him, trying to ignore the sudden quip.

"You are already awake, but it seems that your Young Master has yet to wake up."

The young Servant looked beside the girl, where, indeed, the Red-head was laying down, unconscious. "Did you try kissing him?"

Faster than any master of the Artes use their arts, she snapped her head towards the servant. "What!"

"You..." he drawled. "Can't you detect fooling around from being serious?" he asked. He looked to his side, where he felt a cold tip touching his skin. "Now then, may I ask who the beautiful lady is before this lowly servant?

"Tear." she said, steeling her nerve from the unusual young man. "And you are?"

"Koyzen." he answered. "A servant of the Fabres." he picked up the dagger that was lying beside him, and pointed the tip lazily at Tear. "Now, what were you doing at my house?"

Tear looked at him oddly. "Your house?"

"The Manor." he explained.

She looked at him wide-eyed. "The manor is your house!"

The young servant boy suddenly had mixed feelings whether or not to slap his face, or crack a smirk at the woman. "Well, since the maid and servants are the ones that are basically cleaning the damned thing, that would technically make it ours since we are the ones who take care of it."

"Your logic is faulty!" she sharply replied.

"Is it?" he smirked. They were brought out of Koyzen's amusing game when they heard the red-head groan, slowly coming back to consciousness.

"It seems the curse needs not the kiss of a maiden." the sarcastic servant recited, earning him an odd look from the only maiden in area.

"Ugh... where are we?" Luke started, rubbing his head. The servant noticed that there seemed to be a bruise on his Young Master's torso.

'Nothing too serious, but it could provide as a distraction if moved too much.' the servant mused.

"I don't know." Tear answered the downed noble. "There was a moment where I thought that we were caught in the Planet Storm." she said, earning a questioning look from the servant.

Koyzen may be good at what he does in the manor, but outside that and the orphanage, there was nothing else he knew. Call his laziness a curse, it was probably the reason.

Or the only thing that he could blame at the moment.

When Luke finally caught his bearings and when he saw the young woman's face, realization struck. "Wait, that's right! You were trying to..!" he was stopped when he shifted, rubbing the bruise on his stomach painfully, sending a sharp jolt of pain to his receptors. "Oww!" he hissed, cringing.

"Stop, don't try to move so suddenly. Are you injured? Where does it hurt?" Tear was suddenly on him like a dotting mother when he started to hiss. The servant only stood by, not really caring for the Young Master's wound since it wasn't life-threatening.

"My... isn't this sweet." Koyzen cooed the lovely looking couple. "Is this one of those forbidden loves that I hear? The beautiful intruder, and the Sheltered Prince... I kinda like the sound of that."

"Koyzen!" Luke said, surprised to find his servant/friend behind the woman.

"Please, don't mind me. Continue." he said, shooing them with a broad grin painted across his face.

Luke looked back to the woman, finding the space between them was... almost non-existent, and pushed away from her, even going so far as to ignore the pain he had.

"I-I'm fine." Luke said, a few feet away from the other two. He looked at his servant and asked. "What the hell happened?" he then looked at the woman. "And who are you?"

"Tear." the servant answered for her. "And for what reason for her actions, I don't know. But before that, can anyone tell me where we are?"

Tear stood up from where she was crouching over the previous noble, and approached Luke. "I'm sorry, but I don't know where we are. As for what happened, it would seem that a hyperresonance occurred between us." she said to the noble.

"I see. So it means that you two are compatible." Koyzen nodded sagely. "I knew there was a woman out there who would be immune to your mouth, Luke. Congrats."

"Th-that's not it!" the woman denied. "That wasn't what I meant."

Koyzen looked over to Luke with a sad face. "Aww... you got dumped. Barely ten seconds and you're already single again. Poor you."

"Shut up, Koyzen! You know that wasn't what she meant!" Luke yelled to the suddenly grinning servant.

"He's right." Tear said, agreeing to the young noble. "It's a isofon-induced resonance." she walked over to where Luke was standing, going up to look him in the face, only a few inches away. "I didn't expect you to be a Seventh Fonist, too. That was careless of me. That would explain why the royal family is protecting you."

Koyzen grinned at the scene, and couldn't help but comment. "Aww, Luke, you lucky bastard you. Dumped a few seconds ago, and a few seconds later, she's interested again."

Said noble snapped his neck to his servant, then finally noticed the distance between him and the girl and ran back a few feet away again from her.

"Bad Luke, you should never run away from a pretty lady." his servant scolded the master. Said pretty lady seemed to learn to ignore the words of the odd servant.

"Shut up!" Luke yelled at him. "And you!" he rudely pointed at the woman. "I don't understand a thing you're saying!"

Tear stood there for a moment, looking at the noble. The servant looked at her, impressed. 'She's pissing him off. I like her.' he thought to himself, smiling. 'The shut up comment was only meant for me, yet she acted like it was pointed to her as well. This should be fun.'

Luke stood in his spot also, looking like some thing was troubling him. "Well!" he snapped. "Say something!"

Tear placed her fists on her hips, looking at the noble incredulously. "First you tell me to shut up, now you're telling me to talk. Let's leave the discussion for later." she said, turning away from the red-head, earning a mischievous smile from the servant. "You don't seem to know anything. Talking here would be a waste of time."

'Oh, she's good.' thought the grinning servant. 'But she still needs more practice.'

Koyzen stood in his place, still unmoving from where he woke up. He was amused by the scene, and dare not to make a comment to spoil it. When Tear ended the discussion, he finally spoke. "So what are we gonna do now?" he asked the woman.

"I'll escort you both back to the manor." she answered.

"How!" Luke snapped. "We don't even know where we are!"

Tear turned back to him, pointing over the noble. "You see the sea just over there, don't you?"

The Young Master turned around, finally seeing the blue horizon beyond the beautiful field of white flowers over the cliff. "So that's what the sea looks like..." Luke trailed off. Being in the mansion since he was kidnapped, he wasn't able to see things outside the manor.

"At any rate, let's head out of the ravine and down the coast." said Tear. "If we can find a road, there should be carriages passing along. We should be able to find a way back."

Luke reluctantly took his eyes away from the sea, and looked back to Tear. "And how are we supposed to get to the sea from here?"

"Stop and listen." she said, closing her eyes. "Hear that water flowing? There's a river."

"Or someone taking a long piss." Koyzen mumbled, low enough to not let the other two hear.

"If we follow that river, we should come out to the sea." Tear finished, not hearing or just ignoring the servant that was a few feet behind her.

"...Huh. Is that how it works?" asked the sheltered young noble.

"Let's go then." Tear said, waking passed the passive looking servant. "And how about you?" she asked, stopping only a step behind him.

Koyzen shrugged. "I'm going wherever the Young Master is going." he said before grinning. "Besides, it's a chance for both of us to finally see the outside world."

Tear turned her head slightly to the servant, observing his face from the side. She saw no illusion in his expression. "Very well then."

The three began their trek down the ravine, searching for the river. The sound was loud, meaning that it was closer than expected. Down the path however, was a forest.

A rustle in the bush caught their attention, though it was only Tear who realized what it was.

"Monsters..." she whispered, tensing her muscles and bending her legs.

"Monster?" Luke asked, also hearing the rustle in the bushes, but not being able to identify it.

"Could be the wind." Koyzen supplied, hoping slightly to avoid any troublesome encounters. But it seems that it was not meant to be.

"Here they come." Tear said, drawing out her curve hooked mace.

"What! Don't joke around like that." Luke hissed. He turned his attention to his front when something jumped out of the bush. "Aaah!"

A giant boar jumped out from the darkness. It saw the three looking at it. It felt itself threatened by their presence and charged at the closest one. Unfortunately, it was Luke Fone Fabre.

The Young Master jumped to the side, barely moving out of the way of the charging pig. Tear jump back farther, and the servant drew out his dagger.

Koyzen bent his knees, and looked impassively at the boar, while Tear stood back and began to... sing?

The servant looked back to her, giving her a disbelieving look. 'How could she sing at a time like this?'

He wasn't able to get the answer as the boar rounded back and charged again. Cursing, the servant dove to the pig's side. He twisted in mid air and slash at it's hind leg.

The pig lost it's footing and skidded on it's belly, a few feet away from the singing woman. To it's side was the Young Master with his wooden sword out. Luke slashed at the boar's head, keeping it dazed.

Tear finally finished her song, and a glowing circle appeared underneath the stunned pig. It pulsed out an energy that began to attack the boar. The servant came after the light vanished, and drove his dagger through the pig's skull, killing it.

Luke stood back, adrenaline still pumping. "Whew... Tha-that wasn't so tough."

"Good job, Young Master." Koyzen said, pulling out the bloody blade.

"Don't relax just yet." Tear began. "Look. There's more."

Both Servant and Master turned to another bush, where a... plant-looking-like-a-rabbit walked across. It was a small ball of green, with two large leaves sticking out on top of it and got to it's front.

Koyzen blinked, looking at the bush the the plant disappeared in. "I see great potential in the 'Walking across the road' Jokes from that one."

"If the monsters see you, they will attack. Be careful." Tear warned.

Luke grunted, also eying the bush like his servant. "Think you know everything, don't you?" he said, before the plant thing walked out, and crossed the path again.

Koyzen nodded. "Yup. Great potential indeed."

The trio walked along a path that they've found, finding it easier to walk on than through the bushes. It was probably made by the monsters that frequented the area. After a few minutes passed Tear broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." she began. "I'll get you both back to the manor."

"You damn well better!" Luke snapped.

"It's my fault after all... I'm very sorry." she apologized again.

The servant gave her a side glance. It seemed like she was just talking to herself, and she seemed more apologetic to herself than the two of them. Was something bothering her?

The Young Master caught the sad tone in her voice, slightly making him feel uncomfortable hearing it from a woman. "Yeah... well, I don't get out all that often anyway," he said, sheepishly. "So I guess that a little walking around won't hurt."

"Ah, Young Master, how you've grown." his servant began, wiping away the non-existent tear. "If only you were like this to the other girls as well, you could have started a harem for yourself." Koyzen let out a victorious grin when both companions turned a whole new shade of red when they heard him utter something about a harem.

Tear shook her head to bring her pulse back to normal, seeing the reluctance in the Young Master's face. "So... do you want to go home or not?"

"Of course I want to go home!" Luke snapped, still in a dark shade of red. "What the hell kind of question is that!"

"Then stop talking and start moving, you love birds." Koyzen interjected, still grinning. "If you want to go for a stroll you can ask the duke when we return. You can even ask any girl to accompany you for the trip."

Tear moved over to Luke, cupping a hand over her mouth to say something to him. "Is he really a servant?"

Luke sighed, rubbing his face. "Unfortunately, yes." though, he was smiling. "It's fine though."

"...?" Tear looked at him questioningly. She'd ask about it later.

The bushes in the forest started to rustle loudly again in front of the three. They all drew their weapons and stayed alert.

Two plant... things... radishes? jumped out into the open.

"Be careful, there's more than one this time." Tear warned.

Koyzen rolled his eyes, before looking dispassionately at the monsters. "Thank you for telling us, Tear. I was having trouble remembering what number comes after '1'."

Luke was about to make a comment, but held his tongue when the monsters attacked. One charged and was going to swipe it's large leaf at the Servant, who rolled his eyes at the thing.

Tear ran to the side, then noticed that the servant hasn't move yet. "What are you doing? Dodge?"

Koyzen scoffed, still not moving from his spot. "What's it gonna do with a giant leaf? Fan me to death."

Soon after, he regretted not moving when the leaf actually struck his leg. He cringed in surprise and lost his balance at the unexpected pain. He fell on the ground, his left leg shaking from the monster's attack.

"What the!" he said in surprise. "Is that thing made of rock!" true though, it felt like his leg has just been batted by a rock. Thankfully for him, it wasn't swung hard enough to deal any major injury.

"Don't let yourself get attack, monster's are always full of surprises!" Tear called from the side, beginning to start her song again.

"Thanks for the warning, Miss know-it-all!" he called back, kicking at the ground with his good leg to jump away from another swipe from the creature. "You could have told me earlier."

"I told you to be careful!" she said, gathering enough energy for her to use.

Luke saw his servant's mistake, taking note not to get smacked by one of those, and any other monsters. Tear casted as spell to numb the pain slightly for the servant before reciting a song to attack the monsters again.

They scared of the things, letting them run away back in to the forest again. Luke was surprised to find that there were a few pieces of Gald stuck on the monster's leaves. He was able to knock some of it off of them. A creepy smile appeared on the servant's face when he saw that money, and started to eye his opponent viciously. Needless to say, those things were never coming close to the servant anytime soon.

They sat down by a set of rocks they found to catch their breaths. It was more for the Young Master than the other two. The woman looked like she was used to the situation, while the servant had enough stamina to work for a whole day. The young master sighed, he was finally getting used to the encounters, but he still needed a way to calm himself down in battle. Maybe a few more battles will help.

Well, there was something else on his mind at the moment. He looked over to Tear. "So, are you going to tell me why you broke in to the manor?" he began, catching his servant's interest as well. "Or why you attacked master Van... or anything?"

Now that caught the Servant's attention. "Your target was a high ranking official?" he asked.

Tear avoided looking at any of their gazes, uncomfortable of the subject. But she had keep herself confident, they can't know. It was something personal, after all. "I don't see any point in telling you, and I doubt you'd understand, anyway. Besides, what would you do if I tell you."

Koyzen didn't show it on his face, but he was fairly interested. Ah what the hell, they don't have anything else to do anyway. "This could always be a chance to know each other better."

"I don't care!" Luke snapped. "I don't want to GET to know someone who just broke into my manor. I just want to know WHY."

Koyzen shook his head, burying his face in his palms. "And the new maids ask me why I always warn them before approaching you. Oh the poor souls, boohoo."

Luke just looked at him funny. "I will never get you."

Tear on the other hand merely chuckled a little at the comedic display. Both men looked at her when they heard the amused sound.

"Hey, what are you laughing at!" Luke snapped, unaware that he was just making her laugh more.

"I'm sorry." she said, having enough time to catch her breath. "Don't worry, it's nothing. But... since I will be the one to take you home, all I ask of you two is to trust me."

Luke spared her a glance before looking away from the expression that she was giving them. He sighed. "Fine, fine... there's just us, anyway... there's no point fighting."

Koyzen on the other hand. 'Sorry, but my trust can't be bought just by petty words. Breaking and entering the manor doesn't help either.'

The trio continued their walk, sneaking behind some monsters, or just scaring them off when they got in the way of their path. They found the river that they were searching for, and crossed over a fallen tree to get across.

"Stupid Monsters, you better stay out of my way!" Luke shouted to the running monsters. It seemed that his rudeness has adapted to the monsters as well.

"You're getting better at fending them off, Luke." Tear praised.

The young noble turned away, raising his nose in the air. "I was just startled at first, that's all. I've been training with Master Van. Those wimps are no match for me!"

Koyzen on the other hand. "I feel like a third wheel here." he whispered from the side, drawing circles on the ground.

Luke turned to him. "Did you say something?"

Koyzen dropped his head dejectedly. "No, it's nothing. Let's just go." Tear had already walked on, not waiting for the other two to follow.

Walking further down the path, the Young Master was looking into the shadows with a look that his servant hasn't seen on him before. "I don't like this place." Luke said. "It's all dark, you can't see anything, and there are monster everywhere."

"Yeah, and next thing you'll know, the Boogeyman was also in there." the servant muttered, keeping pace with Tear.

"Once you leave the safety of town, monsters appear anywhere." said Tear, ducking under a low branch.

Koyzen moved the branch a way with his hand, and let it go after he was through. He never saw the branch smacking his Young Master. Luke just thought it was another monster, but when no one else went on guard, he glared at the branch and moved on.

"As for the darkness..." Tear continued, ignoring Luke's earlier noise. "It's night time. There's nothing we can do about that."

"Well, yeah, but I mean, I get out in the first time in years, and as soon as I open my eyes, It's all dark with monsters all over the place. What's up with that?" Luke said, still grumpy from being attacked by rouge tree.

His servant looked behind to him. "Would you like me to read you a bedtime story to make the monsters go away?" whether he was serious or not, it was hard to tell from his bored eyes. This earned him a glare from the noble.

"Maybe right now it's dark and eerie and full of monsters, but..." Tear trailed of, looking around the forest with a smile on her face. "I think it's a pretty place. I mean, I've never been around so much... nature."

Both men looked at each other, asking if one of them knew what she was saying. Both shook their heads. Luke left it alone, while it left Koyzen curious about the girl. Was Tear a city girl that lived in a place full of machines?

Koyzen shook his head. He'll find out later, when she feels like sharing about her life.

Walking further down another path, they saw a clearing out of the forest. "There's the way out!" Tear called out.

The servant cringed. "Yes Tear, your deaf traveling companions heard you." Koyzen grumbled, picking his ear to stop the ringing as he stood beside the girl. "I mean seriously. MUST you say the obvious?"

"Just shut up will you, Koyzen." the sheltered Noble grumbled, glad that there was already a way out. "I'm already sick of this place."

The trio went into high alert when they heard a branch snap. "Someone's coming."

"Of course not, it was just the wind." the servant grumbled, bringing out his dagger again. "I mean, what else could put pressure on a twig that's already on the ground, right?"

Out from the clearing stepped out an old man, carrying a not-so-suspicious bucket. The old man didn't seem to be a noble, which was fairly obvious since he was wearing clothes fit for a commoner, and the bucket had no relevance to his status.

'Nope. Definitely not.' Koyzen thought.

"Uah!" The old man yelled out in surprise when the moon shined down on the forms of the three, almost scaring the poor man to have a heart attack. "D-Don't tell me you're with the Dark wings!"

The lost trio looked at one another, searching for anyone who knew what the old man was talking about. When they all shook there head, they tried to ask about it.

"Dark... Wings?" Tear repeated, hoping the old man would answer.

"They're bandits. Two men and a woman. And you three fit the description perfectly!" he said, before slowly backing away from the three. Koyzen saw the fear in the man's eyes, and he could tell that he was about to run away like a headless chicken from the first sign of danger. He was already sick of the forest, so, he can't have that.

"You're wrong old man, can't you tell that this one's also a girl." he said, uninterestedly gesturing to Luke.

"HEY! I'm not a woman! Can't you see these abs!" said the offended noble, pointing to his bruised belly.

"It just points out that you're an amazon." the servant replied, picking his ear while looking away from his master.

"I am NOT a WOMAN!" Luke yelled.

Koyzen looked back to him, smirking in amusement. "Of course you are. The hair is a dead giveaway." he said, pointing at said item.

"I LIKE IT LONG!" Luke shot back, already losing track of his words. Both were unaware that the old man had already stopped shaking.

The servant looked away again, this time examining his nails. "That's another point, isn't it? Just put on a lovely dress, and you'll look like a beautiful princess."

"KOY-ZEN!" Luke said, drawing out the servant's syllables. He glared at him threateningly.

Said servant looked away, placing a palm before the irate noble's face. "Sorry, I'm not interested. I'd rather date women who are more feminine."

A vein pulsed on the Young Master's temple as he drew out his weapon. Slowly, he stalked his disrespecting servant... before wacking him on the head.

Unnoticed by them, the old man was slowly chuckling at the show. He had already figured that they weren't the Black Wings. He figure that they might be some street performers, traveling around. Beside him was Tear, looking on with visible amusement.

"As you can see, there is no possibility that we are bandits." she said, as she watched as how the Servant boy ducked under Luke's wild swing. "These two are proof enough, as you have figured."

"Yeah, I'm too good looking to become a bandit!" Koyzen called out as he ran in a circle with Luke, who was still wailing the stick at him. "Young Master, Please! I don't swing that way."

The old man chuckled, he couldn't seem to tear away from the scene. "Alright, you've convinced me."

"Thank you." Tear said, cringing as wood met servant in a sickening squishing sound.

"MY GEL!" was Koyzen's cry of despair.

The old man, now 100% sure that they weren't bandits, thought.'They're clowns.'

The show ended when one of them was lying on the ground, twitching every now and then, Tear turned to the old man, who was showing his sympathy at the poor soul. "Now that you know that we are not bandits, let's proceed. We actually lost our way and wound up here."

"Yeah, the red-head and that woman were so compatible they resonated and got swallowed up by their energy, and they ended up here, in the middle of nowhere. Damn couple even dragged me into this." the servant called from his spot, gently soothing Luke's earlier blows. Only, one more blow was added to his pain. "Note to self: steal stick later before it's used to bring more pain."

"Who are you anyway?" Tear asked the old man, ignoring the servant's injury. She'd use First Aid later... maybe in a few hours?

"I'm a coachman-"

"Did not answer the question, do not trust him!" Koyzen called out, before being silenced by another swing. "You're just jealous that you didn't say it first."

"One of the wheels of my coach started acting up." the coachman continued. "We lost our drinking water when the jug fell off, so I came here to draw some more." he said, point to the river behind the trio.

"A coach! Perfect!" Luke said, feeling more refreshed after his divine retribution on the disrespectful servant.

"Do you go to the capital?" Tear asked, also relieved to find a form transportation.

The coachman nodded. "Yeah, that's my last stop."

"How suspicious..." The servant hissed from the side. His back was turned to them, while he was looking through a dark bush. "This is all too convenient for my taste." he said to himself. "Now, where are those Easter eggs..."

'I must've hit him harder than I thought' thought the red-head before grinning. "Let's hitch a ride! I'm sick of walking." Luke said, turning to the downed servant, then to Tear.

"Yeah, we don't know this are very well." she said. "Would that be alright with you?"

The coachman nodded before smiling at Luke's noble attire. Koyzen turned to the man before narrowing his eyes, then turned back to the plant life. "To the capital, it'll be 12,000 Gald a piece. You got enough on you?"

"I knew it." the servant hissed, before diving into the poor bush. "THE EASTER BUNNY! YOUR END HAS COME!"

Everyone ignored the crazy servant, continuing their business.

"That's expensive..." Tear whispered.

"Really? Sounds cheap to me." Luke said. "My dad'll take care of it when we get to the capital."

A rock suddenly flew to the Young Masters head coming from the river. He was about to yell at his servant, but stopped when Koyzen appeared by a nearby bush, quite a few feet away from the body of water.

The old man shook his head. "That's no good. I need payment in advance."

Tear closed her eyes. They couldn't afford the money. She didn't have enough, and she doubted that a servant and a clueless noble would have the money as well. Slowly she raised he hand to her chest.

She heaved a heavy sigh, before reluctantly taking something out. "...Take this." She said, holding out a pendant.

Koyzen looked at the pendant. It was beautiful. It was almost shining inside the darkness of the night forest. He looked over to Tear and looked at her clothes. 'Simple robe... nothing worth noting. No jewelry, meaning that that one was the only thing she had on her... she doesn't look like the type to be vain on petty stones...'

"Wow, this is some gem." said the coachman, snatching the pendant from Tear's grip. "All right, hop aboard."

"Heeh... You got some nice stuff. Now I don't to get my shoes all dirty." said Luke. He started following the coachman to the clearing, but Tear and Koyzen stayed there for a moment.

Koyzen walked over to the woman, who had a glazed expression on her face. "Was that pendant worth something to you?" he asked. Her face was unreadable so he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Tear shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I get you two home."

As she walked away from the forest, the young servant stood back and watched her leave. He sighed in the cold winds of the night. He just couldn't leave it like this.

"Let's see if these old fingers still have their magic."

Humming to himself, a smile slowly formed on his lips. Maybe he wasn't so lazy after all.

* * *

This is a story that I wanted to... experiment on. I still haven't finished the game, and only got it a few days ago thanks to my relative. So, I wanted to try something. My OC will go with Luke, equally ignorant to the world, which I still have little knowledge on. From there, I'll just follow the story, adding bits and pieces into the mix.

Enjoy then.


	2. Look underneath the underneath

Alright here's a little bit about my... OC.

His name is Koyzen Shu, his age is close to Luke's by a few months. His history in the orphanage will be revealed in the story, also to explain his skills. He's a guy that shows emotions only in front of others, but they all look somewhat forced. If he were alone, you'd rarely see him smile, unless something good happened to him.

His personality's quite close to Jade's. (From what I've seen so far in the game of the Colonel.) His preferred weapon is a knife/dagger, or anything that's small and can be thrown. His fighting style greatly focuses on quick, and precise slashes and stabs, all of which are aimed on vitals and soft spots on the opponent's body. As stated in the first chapter, he's pretty good with his hands. Call it a 'Talent', if you will.

Here's a little hint about why he has this personality: It has something to do with the method of his becoming an orphan. It literally destroyed his childhood, and future. Something similar, yet not, with Guy's.

* * *

**_IT'S A TRAP!_**

* * *

"Ugh... I'm tired. Let's take a break." grumbled by a grumpy aristocrat.

"No, Young Master, we still have a few more ways before the town." said his not-so fateful servant, Koyzen, walking beside him. "And besides, just look at the scene around you." he gestured to the vast, open road, surrounded by healthy colored grass. "Doesn't it look magnificent?

Around them was a beautiful grassy plain. The peaceful weather added to the aura of tranquility of the place. Though, unfortunately for them, they were currently located in enemy territory: The Malkuth Empire. The West Rugnica Plains.

"I guess we should rest for now. We wouldn't want to have an encounter while were weakened, now do we?" Tear said, walking beside the young man.

A few moments earlier, they had just been informed that they were not headed for the capital of Kimlascan, Baticul, but to the capital of the Mulkuth Empire, Grand Chokmah. This information simply placed Luke in a foul mood, which led to a small argument of whose fault it was. Koyzen merely sat on the sidelines, keeping his attention on something of more... interest.

Thankfully, it wasn't found out that they were from the other territory, with Tear having to tell a simple, but believable, lie. It was already too late to turn back for them, since the bridge headed back to the right direction was obliterated by the so called 'Dark Wings'.

The group of bandits seemed to have been chased by a moving fortress, Tartarus, if Koyzen remembered correctly. The bandits had the brilliant idea of blowing up the bridge just to escape the authorities, preventing the group of Luke's to return.

Which leads us to this scene, where Luke was complaining about the distance of the town and how hungry he was. It was understandable, though. The whole thing dumped a lot of stress on the two Baticulians, ever since they were transported to the ravine. He was also frustrated by being talked into walking all the way to town just for some spare cash from the roaming 'Locals' AKA Monsters.

'Let's not even mention about that scene about the food on the coach.' Koyzen thought. 'I know the food really didn't bother him that much, but can't he do something about that mouth of his?' He sighed, sneaking a glance at his master from the corner of his eye. 'Even when stuffed, it still hurts in the ears. It's amazing he hasn't been silenced by any of the serva- I mean, assassins, yet.'

As the approached a bridge in the plains, they found a nice shade under a tree. It was a perfect place to rest and admire the surroundings. Tear took out some rice and some salt from her small pack, before molding the rice and adding some salt.

The whole while, Luke was looking at her with interest while crouching down. "What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes still glued to her hands.

"Making Rice balls." she answered, sitting down under a shade, and still molding the rice into a shape. "Since we're resting, we might as well eat something for the road."

Koyzen was also looking on with interest, though, not as much as Luke was. 'I wonder if the Young Master will notice that she didn't wash her hands...' he shook his head from the thought. "Do you always carry some rice with you?" he asked. Tear nodded in reply.

If they were in for a long travel, he might as well bring some food on his person just in case things like this happen again. Still, it's a good thing that the monsters that are running around the area all have at least some spare change on them. They must have been caught somewhere on their fur when they attack some travelers. He hoped that it would always be like this so that they'd have some money to buy supplies.

"Done." Tear said, breaking the Servant out of his thoughts.

Koyzen looked to her, also noting the Young Master making an odd face. In front of her were three rice balls, sitting snugly on a piece of leaf.

"Is this one of those girl games they call 'House'?" Luke asked, while looking at the three balls on the leaf.

Tear frowned at the red-head. "No it's not. We can pack these and eat them while were traveling." she said.

Luke stood up, angrily pointing at the leaf. "Don't joke with me! That won't even be enough for me!"

"They're for snack, Young Master." Koyzen spoke, also looking at the balls of rice. "It'll do for now until we get to a town. It's also good lure, and it's great for... other things." he shifted his eyes to Luke. 'Like stuffing a certain foul mouth.' he added in his head.

"Whatever. Let's just go." the noble sniffed. "Maybe we can get something better to eat at this 'Engeve'."

Luke walked on ahead, not waiting for the other two to follow. Tear and Koyzen looked at each other: the woman wondering how he could put up with this, while the man was wondering when she'll get so pissed and finally slug the red-head in the kisser.

* * *

When they arrived in the small town of Engeve, they all agreed to stay at the inn for the night, and plan what to do next in the morning. The town was more like a small village, surrounded by a field of crops. Also, Koyzen noticed that there were a few number of apple trees on one side of the fields.

When they arrived in front of the Inn, a crowd was blocking the entrance. They were whispering about some theft, and something about the store room.

"Tsk, what's with all these people? Don't they know they're in the way?" Luke grumbled with an irritated look on his face. He wanted to go inside and call it a day already.

"We can't get through like this." Tear muttered, looking at the crowd.

"Something big must've happened." Koyzen mused. "This looks like a scene in one of those books where someone was murdered in a sealed room."

"Murder?" Tear and Luke exclaimed at the same time, looking at the Servant with wide eyes. The crowd turned their attention to the two from their outburst, surprised by what they said.

Koyzen saw the crowd facing them, slightly uncomfortable by the attention of so many people. He inched away from the two, since most of them were looking at Luke and Tear. "It just looks like it." he said. "I'm not saying it is, though."

"Murder?" someone in the crowd asked. "No no. It's not anything like that. The Inn was just robbed, that's all."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief, while Tear just looked like nothing happened. Since the 'Mystery' of the crowd in front of the Inn was solved, they decided to have a look around and wait for the crowd to disperse. They probably wouldn't get a room right away, anyway.

They drifted off to the small market of the village, where the villagers were selling meat and produce. Koyzen put the money he got from the monsters into good use and bought some food for them. He just bought some rice and salt, 'cause it was easy to carry, and it doesn't put any extra weight on him that hinders his movement in battle. He didn't buy any meat 'cause he could just kill some boar out there that's just roaming around.

He was brought out of his shopping where he heard someone yell. "Sir! You have to pay for that!"

Turning around, Koyzen found Luke with an apple in his hand, with a bite mark was on it's surface. The red-head was looking at a man in behind some boxes of apples. 'Probably where Luke took one from.' the Servant thought.

"Why do I have to pay?" asked the (really) sheltered noble, tossing the apple up and down in his hand.

"You can't just take a store's products without paying." Tear informed him, standing at the side.

"But the manor pays for everything all at once." Luke countered.

Now here, the Servant was thinking whether or not to step in. On one hand, he could step in, educate the Young Master about the trades of the world. On the other hand, he could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ignorant (on Luke's part) humiliation.

"Decision, decision..." Koyzen mumbled. He walked over beside Tear, who was looking at Luke. He should probably step in. After all, a master's action also reflects on how a Servant takes care of him.

Back in the argument about the violated apple, it seems that Luke thought that the ways of Malkuth were different than the ways of Kimlasca, where the food in the former has to be bought, and the latter's were free. Yes, such were the thoughts of the most uninformed.

The Servant had to stop himself from searching for a tree and smash his head on it (many many times) from his master's action and logic.

While Luke and Tear were having this interesting discussion about economy and whatnot, the vendor of the apple was getting impatient. "Hey! If you're not gonna pay, I'm going to have you arrested!"

Koyzen could only sigh while digging in his pockets for what was left of his limited change. "Here." he said, walking forward and tossing whatever was left in his pocket to the man. "Please forgive the young man, it's his first time outside his home."

The vendor caught whatever was thrown to him, but paused when he felt something else besides coins in his hands. "Huh? What's this?" he took out what looked like a shining stone, dangling it by it's string.

Tear saw the stone and looked at it with wide eyes. "My pendant!" she exclaimed.

The vendor looked at the girl, then the servant that tossed him the item, who was looking away sheepishly. "What were you doing with this girl's pendant?" he asked, suspiciously.

Koyzen looked away from the accusing glare of the vendor, and away from the confused look of his master. "Umm... I was washing her pants and saw it, then forgot about it?" he supplied, suddenly very interested to at a tree that was on the other side of the market.

"Can I please have that back?" Tear pleaded the vendor.

The man nodded. "Sure here you go." he said, handing back the pendant to the woman. "The money's all here anyway, so there's no problem."

"Thank you." she said, gratefully, fixing the accessory around her neck. She felt a familiar weight on her that was back where it truly belonged.

"Hey, wasn't that-" Luke started, only to be dragged by his servant away from the vendor, with the apple still in his hand, which then found it's way to the red-head's mouth.

"Good day sir, I promise this wont ever happen again." Koyzen said to the man, with one hand on the noble's apple to keep anymore trouble from being summoned by what it was plugging up.

* * *

On the way back to the Inn, Tear still had her hand on her chest, where the pendant was hanging on under her clothes. The smile on her face contradicted the cold persona that she had since the first time they met. Luke was grumbling words that were not appropriate to the pure hearing of children as he walked beside the other two.

"Wasn't that thing used to pay for our ride?" Luke asked, pointing an accusing glare at his servant.

"It was." Koyzen answered honestly.

"Then why did you have it?" Luke stopped from walking, as did Tear. She was also curious of why he had her pendant.

"It was... shiny." the servant supplied. Unlike the two, he didn't stop walking and kept his pace. He stopped when Luke's hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Answer me." he commanded.

Koyzen kept his uninterested expression, looking back at his master. "I found it on the ground. It fell when the coach was rocked by the Tartarus thing when it passed."

"Why didn't you give it back?" Luke asked, crossing his arms. He must be applying what he just learned from earlier.

Koyzen raised an uninterested brow. "I did." he said, as a matter of fact-ly, confusing the red-head. "It was Tear's wasn't it? I was going to give it back later, if you were wondering."

"Koyzen." Tear spoke up, earning both men's attention. "Why... did you steal it?"

"I didn't." was the Servant's answer. He freed himself from Luke's grip and started walking away. "It's back where it rightfully belongs... right?"

Tear and Luke stood still from where they were. Luke didn't get it, he thought that the pendant was used as payment. So, didn't it supposed to belong to the coachman? Tear though, had different thoughts. She already knew that he stole it, since when, she didn't know. Still, she was grateful. It was... important to her. But... why did he go so far as to steal a piece of accessory for her?

* * *

When they returned to the Inn, the number of people had dwindled down a bit. But there were still too many to enter. This time though, it looked like they were waiting for something.

From the Inn, a man stepped out. He sighed in defeat when he looked at the people. "Nothing." he told them. "Every last scrap of food in the storehouse had been stolen."

From the last word the man uttered, both Luke and Tear turned to their last traveling companion. Koyzen didn't pay them any mind, and continued to listen to the conversation about a thief.

"This has happened time and time again since those fires up North." one of the villagers said. "You think maybe some deserters hiding out up there started to come here to look for food?" he wondered.

"Or it could be the work of the Dark Wings, too." another villager said.

Luke stared at the people, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's just food. Would those Dark Wings guys really bother to steal that?" he said out loud, forgetting about his servant at the moment.

The crowd all turn to him with a pointed look. "What do you mean 'Just food'!" a man said in outrage. "In this village, food is the most valuable thing in this village!"

"I could see that by the healthy crops just outside the village." Koyzen mused out loud.

Luke looked at him with an amused face. "Oh come on. So someone stole it. Just buy some more, then. Right?" he asked his Servant.

Said servant shook his head, waving a hand in front of him negatively. "No no, Luke, that's not how things work. People work hard for a living and to earn food to feed their families. It's equivalent exchange. Work hard and expect to be rewarded accordingly."

A villager nodded at the statement. "Yeah, that's right!"

Luke faced his lazy Servant, raising a brow. "This coming from you?" From the times when Luke saw him, he would always be asleep.

The servant merely shrugged at him, already knowing what he meant.

They were interrupted when another villager ran up to the crowd, looking frantic. "Hey, I just heard that Kenny's place got hit by a food thief, too." he told them. His eyes then wandered to three familiar faces in the crowd. Or more specifically, Luke and Koyzen. "It's you!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at the two. "So, you didn't just steal from me and this young lady here, but you were also here doing the same thing, huh!"

The crowds eyes snapped to the two. The dark haired boy shrank from the attention, but the red-head didn't look concerned. "What! You're the one who raided my storehouse?" the man that came out of the door asked. It was probably the Innkeeper.

"They say that the criminal always return to the scene of the crime." a villager stated.

This got him a glare at the young Servant. "Though I like novels with settings such as those, I don't like being accused of something that you don't have proof of."

"Like he said." Luke spoke up. "Are you calling me a thief?"

"You tried to steal an apple from me!" the vendor accused. "And you!" he pointed at the still-glaring servant. "That pendant of the young lady was proof enough that you're a thief! Don't deny it!"

Koyzen clenched his hands tightly, fighting the urge to grab his knife and stab the man where he stood. Though he would never admit it: Yes, he was a thief... once upon a time. But the thing about the pendant wasn't thievery, it was more of liberating it back.

The coachman did say that he was going to take them to the capital, but the man never said _which_ capital. They did say that they were lost, that there's a point. They did say that they had no idea where the hell they were, which was also another point. And lastly, the pendant had a sort of sentimental value to Tear, which was worth more than any money or gold in the world. Things like those should never be taken away from someone, especially not in front of Koyzen.

And here he was, being accused of stealing something that he was trying to give back. He bit back a bitter smile. "Ironic, eh?" he whispered.

"That's it, I'm taking you both to the authorities." the Innkeeper said, walking through the crowd and grabbing both teens. He then dragged then to the mayor's house.

"Wait!" Tear tried to stop them, but her voice was muffled by the crowd that began to follow as well. He bit her lower lip and followed them, hoping for the best.

* * *

Inside one of the bigger houses of the village, the noble and servant were dragged to the front door. They kicked them in as soon as the door opened, literally. They were all set to bring the two justice, that they ignored the calls of a girl on the back of the crowd.

Seeing that she couldn't do anything to stop them, Tear went inside the house, hoping to explain the thing about the servant.

"Rose, we've got trouble!" a villager called.

Inside the home came out an elder woman, who was currently speaking to a man wearing a fine attire. The talk was stopped as soon as the door opened, and two teenagers were flung through it. "What's the meaning of this? We've got an important guest from the military here, calm down." she bellowed. She looked down to the two boys, who were rubbing the spots that they fell on. "And who are these two?"

"These guys' are the ones that were stealing the food!" the Innkeeper accused, picking up Luke by the collar of his coat.

Luke showed no panic from being manhandled, merely looking annoyed. "I told you I'm not a thief."

"Rose, this two must be with the Dark Wings." the Innkeeper whispered.

Koyzen rolled his eyes from his spot on the floor. "Oh no, not this again." he muttered. "I should really prepare a dress for Luke if this is gonna be an everyday thing."

"They must be the ones responsible for the food for being stolen lately." a villager spoke up.

"If I wasn't in enough trouble already, I would have beaten the hell out of you." Koyzen said, getting up and dusting himself. "If you people have even a brain the size of a pea, then you should know that you shouldn't accuse things that you have no evidence of."

"We're not your damn thief!" Luke yelled, swatting away the Innkeeper's hand from his coat. "Do I look like I'm going hungry to you?"

"My my, what lively boys." Rose commented. "Why don't we settle down first, all right?"

"Yes, please do." the fancy looking man finally spoke, fixing his glasses up his nose.

"Colonel..." Rose addressed the man, earning the people's attention, and Luke's ire.

"Who the hell are you?" Luke glared.

"I'm Colonel Jade Curtiss, Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces." the man introduced. "And who might you be?"

"Luke." the red-head said. "Luke Fo-" before the noble could say anymore, Tear dove in and caught the teen's shoulder while calling his name.

Tear dragged the red-head a bit farther from the Colonel, leaving the servant to the man. He looked at the dark haired youth, and focused his attention to him. "Well, he seems preoccupied. How about you? What's your name?" he asked, as if talking to a child.

Seeing what the man was doing, Koyzen figured he would humor the man. "Sowwy mistew." the young man said, acting like a child and imitating the voice as well. "Mommy told not to talk to scary looking, red-eyed, creepy military officials, because she said that they would be annoying and ask many idiotic questions." and with that, he left the surprised Colonel where he stood and went to his traveling buddies.

"Well, that was certainly... new." Jade said.

After the red-head and the woman faced the Colonel again, they found Koyzen leaning by the door with the military official looking surprised at him. Tear shook her head. She would ask about that later. She walked up to the glass-wearing official, and introduced herself and the others. "Colonel Curtiss. My name is Tear, the young man with the red hair is called Luke, and the one by the door is called Koyzen." she said.

"Koyzen, huh..." Jade repeated, looking at the interesting youth. "A very interesting youth indeed."

Tear ignored the Colonel's words and continued. "We were headed to Chesedonia, but we boarded the wrong coach and wound up here."

"Oh?" Jade studied the Tear before studying the other two as well. "You three certainly fit the description of the Dark wings. Could you be them by any chance?" he mused, smiling in a way that Koyzen was very familiar with, making the young man dislodge himself from his spot.

"Whatever you're thinking four-eyes, it better not be to harm any of us." Koyzen warned.

Jade merely closed his eyes, fixing his glasses and smiling another smile that Koyzen knew. "My. I would never dream of doing such a thing."

Koyzen scoffed, leaning back to the wall again. "You'd better not, else you would be having nightmares about it." he closed his eyes and waited for whatever else they would be accused of. This time though, he'll just stay put and ignore them.

"Colonel, you have to believe us, we are not the dark wings." Tear pleaded, though still in her cold tone. "We were there when the Malkuth military forced the real Dark Wings to the other side of Rotelro Bridge."

"Ah, I see." Jade nodded, remembering exactly what she was referring to. "So, you were in the coach from earlier."

"What is this all about, Colonel?" Rose asked, having been lost from when the dark haired boy threatened the military official.

"Just as Ms. Tear said, a group of bandits thought to be the Dark Wings fled towards Kimlasca." Jade stated. "I can assure you that these people are not with them."

Koyzen rolled his eyes from the four-eyed liar.

"But, one of the villagers said that he stole the young lady's pendant." the Innkeeper accused, pointing at the one still leaning against the wall. Koyzen made no motion to correct nor deny the man, he just stayed silent.

He would just be wasting his breath on people who don't wish to listen, so why should he make the effort?

Jade look to Tear for confirmation. "Is this true?" he asked.

Tear place a hand on her chest, neither looking at Jade nor Koyzen. "No..." she shook her head. "He didn't take it from me."

Koyzen cracked a tiny smile when he heard her. 'Such a way with words...' he thought.

"Please ease up with your interogation, Colonel Curtiss." a new voice spoke from the crowd.

Jade turned his head to the voice, and addressed to it. "Fon Master Ion."

Luke, Tear and Koyzen turned their heads immediately to the opened door as the small crowd of people parted to show a petite person in a robe. The first thing that entered the servant's mind as he looked was: 'What a cute little girl.'

"Was there something you wanted, Fon Master Ion?" Jade asked the petite girl.

"I was a bit curious, so I investigated the food storehouse." Ion informed the Colonel, entering the mayor's home. "I found this at the corner of the room." she said, handing over a bundle of hair to the Mayor.

"This is fur from a sacred Cheagle." Rose said, examining the the hair.

Ion nodded, also coming to the same conclusion. "Yes. A Cheagle is what probably raided your food stores."

"See, I told you I wasn't the thief." Luke snapped at the Innkeeper. The old man also looked at the other teen, who only looked at him and snorted while glaring. He scratched his head apologetically at the boy.

Rose sighed. "Well, sounds like that takes care of that. I think you all have something to say to these boys and their friend?" she said, looking at the crowd.

"I'm sorry." the Innkeeper said, still scratching his head. "With all the burglaries lately, I've been a little on edge."

"Sorry for accusing you." another villager said.

"I'm sorry for making the situation worse." another one said.

Rose smiled happily. "Do you think you could forgive them, boys?" she asked the two falsely accused teens.

"I'm not a boy." Luke whined. He didn't like it when people treat him like a little kid.

"I for one agree." the Servant spoke in monotone. "With that hair of his, I'm still voting for him of being a girl."

"Knock it off!" Luke snapped.

Koyzen lifted his hands in front of him defensively. "Sorry about that. I take it back, you are not a girl." he told Luke, who gave him a quick nod while smiling. That smile didn't last though. "Now that you're all grown up, I should address to you as a young lady." this time, it was Koyzen's time to smirk. Neither of them noticed that Jade was also mimicking the expression.

"Koyzen! You ungrateful little-!" Luke roared, snatching back his wodden sword from Tear's grasp and quickly went to his irritating Servant, who had dove under a table inside the house.

Koyzen cried for help from under the table, though there was no distress in his voice, and it was in a flat tone. "Someone help me! Luke's on her period and has her sights on me!"

"Get out of there!" Luke roared, unaware of the chuckles from the people around seeing the display. "When I get my hands on you-!"

"No!" came another monotonous cry from under the table. "I don't want you. You're ugly."

Rose's house was filled with laughter that afternoon.

* * *

When everything had calmed down, with Koyden sporting a few bruises, they left Rose with the Colonel to continue their discussion from earlier. The Servant also caught Luke sneaking one last look at Ion before the door closed, though.

"Why is Fon Master Ion here?" Tear voiced the question in everyone's mind. Koyzen didn't know who this Ion is, but she seemed to be a famous person.

'Is she a celebrity?' he wondered before shaking his head.

"Fon Master Ion?" Luke asked. Koyzen almost smirked, seeing that he wasn't the only one clueless in the group.

"The supreme leader of the Order of Lorelei." Tear answered. The servant turned to her, surprised that a little girl like her was a supreme leader.

Luke paused before looking at Tear. "Wait a minute, I thought that Ion was missing?" he said.

"Missing?" Koyzen repeated.

Luke nodded. "Master Van said he was returning home to look for him."

"Really?" Tear asked. "That's news to me. I wonder what's going on..." she turned her head to look back to the house. "He didn't look like he was being held captive."

"Nor did she look like she was being held against her will." Koyzen mused. He wanted to keep thinking though, but first, there was something that was bothering him from what Tear said. "Hey Tear... why... did you refer to her as a... 'He'?" he was very hesitant about this. He's read this type of this before, but he hoped that it wasn't the case.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "That's because 'He' is a 'Boy'. There has never been a female Fon Master."

Koyzen paled at the information. "You mean, She's a... 'He'?" he asked. Tear nodded, a little confused about the question. The servant looked back to the house, pale and sweating bullets. "By Lorelei's will... ION'S A TRAP!"

"Trap?" Tear repeated. The word escapes her. What did he mean that Master Ion was a trap? Is it some kind of plot from the Malkuth? Also... "Why did you even think that Master Ion was a girl?"

Koyzen turned to her, the color of his face returning as he glared. "Oh sorry, my observation must have been faulty on him. I mean, the feminine voice, the small figure, the cute face, the girl-like hair and the fucking ROBE! Sorry, my mistake then." he started grumbling and stomped his way to the inn, ignoring the odd looks the other two were giving him.

Tear turned to Luke. "Did you also think that Master Ion was a girl?"

"I knew he was a guy at first glance." Luke answered, shaking his head. "What did he mean by a 'Trap', do you know?"

Tear shrugged, shaking her head.

* * *

In the Inn...

As Koyzen entered the Inn, there was a girl in front of the counter, asking the keeper about something.

"Have you seen the boy I was with?" she asked. The girl was young, about thirteen-looking, or so. Her skin was pretty tanned, and her hair was tied into two pony tails. Her attire was mostly pink and white. Her dress was pink while wearing thigh-high, white stockings.

'Boy...' Koyzen growled in his head, looking down at the girl. 'How could that thing be a _'boy'_'

"He was pretty short. He was also kinda out of it..." she continued to discribe.

The Innkeeper shook his head. "Sorry, I was away from the Inn for a little while."

The little girl pouted. "Honestly, that Ion."

At the utter of the name, Koyzen's glare intensified, almost leaking out some killing intent. The girl doesn't seem to sense it, but the Innkeeper was looking paler as he watched the look on the young boy's face from behind the girl.

"Where did he run off to?" the girl wondered. Taking care of the Fon Master was sometimes a chore for her.

"Ion..."

The little girl stiffened from the way the name was hissed with fury. She turned slowly to look what was behind her, only to find a tall teen glaring down at her. She could practically see the malice being emitted from his form.

"Um..." she hesitated. "Can I... help you?" she asked. She didn't know what happened to get this guy pissed, but she was sure that she'd rather not find out.

"You looking for... Ion?" the teen hissed the name again, making the girl gulp. She wondered if the guy's mood had something to do with her sweet, adorable charge.

The tanned girl nodded, shrinking a bit from the intensity on the glare.

"In the mayor's house." he said, eyes still not leaving the quivering form of the girl. "They said they were talking about something."

The girl nodded again before dashing out the door, going as fast as she could to get as far away from the scary looking guy as possible.

* * *

Back in the Inn. The temperature of the place seemed to have dropped after the girl escaped, leaving the manager and an unfortunate merchant trapped inside with the crazy-looking teen.

The dark haired boy smiled maliciously at the closed door, deep in thought...

The few minutes of silence, though, was broken when a cry from the Inn echoed through out the village.

"**FUCKING TRAP!"**

All the villagers were shaking from the hate-filled tone of the voice. Not even tracks of monsters could be seen outside of Engeve.

* * *

But a certain Fon Master just sneezed.

'someone must be talking about me.'

* * *

A/N: Haha, I always wanted to write something like this about Ion. I mean COME ON! The first time I saw him, I thought it was a her. But then, Tear and Luke kept on using him,his,he, and whatever. My jaw literally dropped from the time in the Cheagle woods.

It's just so unfair that something so... cute could be so... wrong...

If anyone can tell me anything about Ion that's masculine, please tell me. I could still feel my eye twitch from time to time when I look at Ion for too long.

For those who didn't know:

**Trap** (if aimed at a pretty looking girl): is a boy that looks like girl, dresses like a girl, acts like a girl, but is actually a BOY! You'll never know until someone confirms it to you or if you peek under the hood.


End file.
